6.  The applicant was born in 1964 and currently lives in Offenburg, Germany.
7.  The applicant left Bulgaria for Germany on 15 January 1992 and settled in Offenburg. On 28 January 1994 he married a German national, Ms E. Pfeifer, and adopted her family name. On 24 February 1995 they had a daughter. In July 1997 the applicant started work at a Daimler‑Benz factory in Stuttgart. Between 1998 and 2001, when he was in pre‑trial detention in Bulgaria and unable to provide for his family (see paragraph 24 below), the German authorities paid child support in his stead.
8.  On 19 May 2006 a court in Offenburg granted a divorce petition by the applicant's wife, chiefly on account of his prolonged absence because of the criminal proceedings against him in Bulgaria and the fact that he had been prevented from leaving that country to visit his family in Germany (see paragraphs 24‑38 below).
9.  On 3 February 1992 the Bulgarian authorities opened an investigation against the applicant on suspicion that on 14 January 1992 he had murdered a man in Pleven. On 1 October 1996 an investigator ordered his arrest.
10.  The applicant's whereabouts were established through Interpol and on 3 June 1998 he was arrested in Offenburg. On 22 June 1998 the Bulgarian authorities requested his extradition on charges of premeditated murder. On 7 October 1998 the German authorities agreed to extradite him and on 18 November 1998 he was sent to Bulgaria.
11.  On 29 December 1998 the applicant was charged with premeditated murder committed as a repeat offender. However, in April 1999 the charges were modified to aggravated robbery accompanied by murder.
12.  In a judgment of 18 April 2000 the Pleven Regional Court found the applicant guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced him to sixteen years' imprisonment.
13.  Following an appeal by the applicant, on 24 October 2000 the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and sentence and referred the case back to the prosecuting authorities. It found, among other things, that the applicant's conviction for robbery was in breach of the “rule of speciality” set forth in Article 14 of the European Convention on Extradition.
14.  On 28 February 2001 the applicant was charged with premeditated murder. On 9 November 2001 the prosecuting authorities decided to drop the charge of murder committed as a repeat offender. Following an application by the private prosecuting parties, in December 2001 the Pleven Regional Court set that decision aside and directed the prosecuting authorities to also charge the applicant with murder committed in the capacity of a repeat offender.
15.  On 15 February 2002 the prosecuting authorities indicted the applicant, charging him with premeditated murder committed as a repeat offender and in complicity.
16.  Between June 2002 and March 2004 the Pleven Regional Court held nine hearings. However, on 24 March 2005, pursuant to a request by the applicant, a judge and a lay judge withdrew from the case, the former because certain remarks that he had made could have been considered indicative of bias, and the latter on the ground that he had taken part in the examination of the application for judicial review of the prosecuting authorities' decision to drop the charge of murder committed as a repeat offender (see paragraph 14 above). Accordingly, the trial had to start anew.
17.  In June or July 2005 the applicant was indicted again. As the Pleven Regional Court found the indictment defective, it had to be re‑submitted in September 2005, charging the applicant with murder committed as a repeat offender.
18.  On 26 May 2006 the Pleven Regional Court acquitted the applicant.
19.  The prosecution appealed to the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal. However, as all the judges of that court had previously dealt with the case, chiefly in connection with requests for release or requests by the applicant to be allowed to leave Bulgaria (see paragraphs 24, 29, 31, 33, 35, 36 and 37 below), in November 2006 the proceedings were transferred to the Sofia Court of Appeal.
20.  On 27 June 2007 the Sofia Court of Appeal quashed the applicant's acquittal and found him guilty of murder committed as a repeat offender. It sentenced him to ten years' imprisonment.
21.  Following an appeal by the applicant, on 24 January 2008 the Supreme Court of Cassation quashed the lower court's judgment, finding that it had made certain clerical errors in the text of its judgment which, taken as a whole, made it impossible to ascertain the exact tenor of its ruling.
22.  The Sofia Court of Appeal examined the case afresh on 10 March 2008, and, on 21 April 2008, again quashed the applicant's acquittal and found him guilty of murder committed as a repeat offender. It sentenced him to ten years' imprisonment. It observed that there were a number of aggravating circumstances, but went on to say that there existed a compelling mitigating circumstance: the amount of time which had elapsed since the commission of the offence. Part of that period could be attributed to the conduct of the applicant, who had escaped to Germany. However, there were still grounds to impose a punishment below the statutory minimum – fifteen years' imprisonment – to compensate for the excessive duration of the proceedings.
23.  Following an appeal by the applicant, on 23 December 2008 the Supreme Court of Cassation upheld his conviction and sentence. It fully approved of the approach taken by the lower court with regard to the quantum of the punishment, saying that the reduction had made good an injustice towards the applicant, namely the failure to determine the charges against him within a reasonable time.
24.  On 19 November 1998, the day following his extradition (see paragraph 10 above), the applicant was placed in pre‑trial detention. On 7 February 2001 he was released.
25.  In the meantime, in February 1999 the immigration authorities took away his passport at the request of the investigation authorities.
26.  On 27 June 2001 the applicant asked the prosecuting authorities to allow him to leave Bulgaria for sixty days to visit his wife and daughter in Germany. He argued that he had not seen them for four years, that they were experiencing financial difficulties, that he had a fixed place of abode in both Germany and Bulgaria, and that since his release from custody he had always remained at the disposal of the authorities. On 28 June 2001 his request was refused, and he sought judicial review by the Pleven Regional Court. On 1 August 2001 that court dismissed his application, holding that the gravity of the charges against him and the potential punishment made it likely that he would flee. There was no indication that he needed to travel urgently and there was nothing to indicate that he would not abscond.
27.  In February 2002 the applicant sought leave from the Pleven Regional Court to go to Germany. On 7 March 2002 the judge-rapporteur in his case turned down his request. He held that the fact that the applicant had left Bulgaria immediately after the commission of the offence was indicative of his desire to obstruct the proceedings. If he had really acted in good faith, there would have been no need to track him down through Interpol. There was no guarantee that, if allowed to go to Germany, he would return for the trial. He stood accused of a serious offence, committed as a repeat offender and carrying a punishment of between fifteen years' imprisonment and life imprisonment without parole. The harshness of the punishment in itself made it likely that he would try to flee.
28.  On 23 April 2002 the applicant asked the Pleven Regional Court to allow him to leave Bulgaria for twenty‑five days to visit his wife and daughter in Germany. He chiefly relied on the same arguments as before. On an unspecified date in April, May or June 2002 the judge-rapporteur rejected the request, giving exactly the same reasons as earlier.
29.  On 14 October 2002 the applicant made yet another request to be allowed to travel to Germany. He said that he had not seen his family for more than four years, which had adversely affected his family life, had had profoundly negative effects on the emotional state of his daughter, and had placed his wife and daughter in financial difficulties. He submitted a medical certificate showing that his wife had developed a psychogenic hysterical paralysis, which prevented her from taking proper care of their daughter. He also asserted that he could not provide for his family from Bulgaria and needed to go to Germany and register with the German social services in order to obtain financial support for them. He had not obstructed the progress of the proceedings in any way, had a permanent place of abode in both Bulgaria and Germany, and had never sought to evade justice. On 30 October 2002 the Pleven Regional Court rejected the request, briefly noting that the applicant had been charged with a serious wilful offence. The applicant's ensuing appeal was declared inadmissible by the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal on 13 November 2002, on the grounds that no appeal lay against the lower court's ruling and that the appeal had been signed solely by the applicant's counsel.
30.  On 13 December 2002 the applicant sought leave to travel to Germany, reiterating his earlier arguments. On 8 January 2003 the Pleven Regional Court rejected his request, briefly noting that he stood accused of a serious offence and that the lifting of the travel ban could hinder the establishment of the truth and the conclusion of the trial.
31.  The applicant made a further request on 2 July 2003, reiterating his previous arguments. The court rejected it the same day, briefly noting that the applicant stood accused of a serious offence and had been extradited from Germany. His family-related arguments could not be seen as decisive. The applicant's ensuing appeal was dismissed by the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal on 28 July 2003.
32.  On 25 July 2003 the applicant requested the lifting of the travel ban, reiterating his earlier arguments. On 14 August 2003 the Pleven Regional Court rejected his request, observing that he stood accused of a serious offence, had been hiding in Germany and had been extradited from there. The length of the criminal proceedings had not exceeded a reasonable time. The fact that the applicant's family was in Germany was not decisive, as there was no indication that they could not visit him in Bulgaria. Moreover, he could work in Bulgaria and support his family from there.
33.  Following an appeal by the applicant, on 26 August 2003 the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal reversed the lower court's ruling and allowed him to travel to Germany. In a detailed opinion it noted that, although the applicant had been charged with a serious offence and had been extradited and then kept in custody for a long time, he had not missed any hearings in his case. In the court's view, at that stage, when the proceedings had already lasted twelve years and thus exceeded a reasonable time, it was no longer justified to turn down the applicant's requests for permission to travel. The court reviewed the applicant's conduct between 1992 and 1998 and concluded that he had not tried to evade justice. It went on to say that in relying on the gravity of the charges against him the lower court had acted in breach of the presumption of innocence. The only relevant factor in that respect was the conduct of the accused during the proceedings. The court noted that the applicant had not obstructed the proceedings against him in any way since his release from detention, that the evidence against him was contradictory and that his family life had suffered serious disruption on account of a measure which could not be maintained forever. It also held that to allow the applicant to travel to Germany would not create a risk of his evading, because he could be re-arrested and extradited. However, the court turned down the applicant's request for a full lifting of the travel ban.
34.  In August and September 2003 the applicant travelled to Germany. He returned in time for the next hearing, which took place on 18 September 2003.
35.  On 19 December 2003 the applicant asked the Pleven Regional Court to allow him to travel to Germany again. He relied on the same arguments as previously and stressed that he had returned from his previous trip in time for the hearing. The court examined the request at a hearing held on 23 December 2003 and rejected it in a decision of the same day. It said that there was no indication that the applicant's family could not visit him in Bulgaria. He had been extradited from Germany and could not be allowed to leave Bulgaria. The applicant appealed, putting forward numerous detailed arguments. On 12 January 2004 the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's decision, saying that the seriousness of the charges against the applicant, coupled with his two previous convictions, showed that he was a dangerous individual. It was therefore likely that, if allowed to leave the country, he would not return. The fact that he had been extradited was telling in this respect. He could maintain contact with his family from Bulgaria.
36.  On 23 February 2004 the applicant made another request to be allowed to travel to Germany, putting forward arguments similar to those supporting his previous requests and stressing that the separation from his wife since 1998 had caused her to apply for a divorce, as could be seen from the grounds cited in her divorce petition (see paragraph 8 above). He repeated his request on 4 March 2004. On the same day the Pleven Regional Court rejected it, observing that there was no indication that the separation between the applicant and his wife had not predated his extradition. Moreover, the applicant had produced no proof to show that the divorce petition had already been heard. He stood accused of a serious wilful offence, in connection with which he had been extradited. The applicant appealed, reiterating his arguments. On 25 March 2004 the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's ruling, holding that, in view of the gravity of the charges against the applicant and the fact that he had prior convictions, he was likely to flee. The proceedings against him had not lasted an unreasonably long time, because their duration was not attributable to the conduct of the authorities. The applicant's family could come to Bulgaria, whereas the lifting of the travel ban would render the earlier extradition pointless.
37.  On 8 December 2004 the applicant made a fresh request to be allowed to travel to Germany. On 14 February 2005 the Pleven Regional Court refused it. Following an appeal by the applicant, on 28 February 2005 the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeal reversed this ruling and allowed the applicant to travel to Germany, giving exactly the same reasons as on 26 August 2003 (see paragraph 33 above).
38.  On 26 May 2006 the Pleven Regional Court, when acquitting the applicant (see paragraph 18 above), fully lifted the prohibition on his leaving Bulgaria.
39.  The applicant went to Germany, where, on 15 March 2007 he was employed by a German company. However, he attended all the hearings in the case against him in Bulgaria.
40.  On 27 June 2007 the Sofia Court of Appeal, when quashing the applicant's acquittal and finding him guilty (see paragraph 20 above), imposed a new travel ban, without giving reasons. The applicant's appeals against that order were declared inadmissible on the ground that no appeal lay against it.
41.  On 10 March 2008 the applicant asked the Sofia Court of Appeal to lift the travel ban. On the same day the court granted his request. It noted that he had a wife and a child in Germany and an address in Germany. It went on to observe that the judicial phase of the proceedings had been pending for too long, that the applicant, whose conduct during the proceedings had been exemplary, had not caused any adjournments, and that the ban had been in force since 27 June 2007. Finally, it could not be overlooked that the applicant had been acquitted by the lower court.
42.  It seems that after that the applicant went to Germany. He is currently there, fighting an extradition request from the Bulgarian authorities, which have issued a European arrest warrant for him with a view to enforcing his sentence, which became final on 23 December 2008 (see paragraphs 22 and 23 above). The proceedings are now pending before the Karlsruhe Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht Karlsruhe).